Veg Seekh Kabab Recipe | How to make Baked Vegetarian Seekh Kebab

Learn how to make Veg Seekh Kabab ~ Vegetarian Seekh Kebab with assorted vegetables and paneer (Indian cottage cheese) flavoured with homemade aromatic spice mix

Flavourful. Succulent. Melt-in-mouth. Delicious. Seriously addictive.

That’s kabab or kebab for you. If you think vegetarian food is boring, then think again! This Veg Seekh Kabab or Vegetarian Seekh Kebab is a serious contender for their meaty counterpart and will give run for their money. Made with minced vegetables, cottage cheese and carefully selected spice blend, these kababs are a fine example of how a strong and complex flavours can work beautifully when they are carefully balanced to create a dish where the flavours in the end blend harmoniously without any one ingredient overpowering the other. This labour intensive dish is a result of my labour of love over many years as I have tried and tested over and over until I finally got that perfect blend of flavour, aroma, texture and taste by carefully measuring and balancing the ingredients and spices.

During my quest for perfecting the recipe for Vegetarian Seekh Kebab, I came across couple of interesting articles that gave an insight into the history of these much loved food around the globe. This is going to be one word heavy and photo heavy post and I must warn you well in advance so that you can skip the lengthy post and jump to the recipe post. But if you are a sucker for food stories and the rich history, stay with me as I take you on a culinary journey into the world of kebabs and the stories about the birth of kebabs, how they travelled around the world and how every country adapted them.

Beetroot Halwa Recipe | How to make Beetroot Halwa

Learn how to make Beetroot Halwa ~ Sweet beetroot pudding flavoured with ghee and cardamoms

Year 2016 is coming to an end and what a year it has been! As the year draws to an end, I can’t help but introspect the days gone by. This year has been a year of surprises; some good and some not so good. It’s been a year where I have laughed a lot, cried my heart out, gracefully accepted the new laughter lines few more silver-grey hairs, lost few pounds only to gain them back, made few mistakes and learnt some valuable lessons, been more conscious of what I cook and serve for my family n friends, did a lot of travelling and road trips, spent more time in the arms of mother nature, did some creative work that I enjoyed a lot, walked minimum 10K steps a day, grew a lot of vegetables, spent more time with my family, and learnt to live in a moment by finding joys in little things in life from LD.

AND… Monsoon Spice completed 10 years of blogging in the end of September 2016 which ~gasp~ I completely forgot to mention, let alone celebrate! Well, that was a year 2016 in nutshell and I can go on with my unceasing rants. But I am running out of time as we are leaving to India to meet a brand new member of our family, celebrate Christmas and welcome a brand new year with our families. It's going to be a short holiday, but we are planning to make the most it and have a blast.

Vegan Gobi Musallam Recipe | Whole Roasted Cauliflower in Makhani Gravy

Learn how to make Vegan Gobi Musallam ~ Whole roasted cauliflower cooked in mildly spiced creamy cashew and coconut gravy

When I think of lavish, one of a kind centre piece for lavish (vegetarian/vegan) dinner party, the first dish that comes to my mind is Gobi Musallam. Some dishes are not found in any restaurants and this Gobi Musallam is one such dish where whole roasted cauliflower in a creamy makhani gravy. This stunning Gobi Musallam is one dish which is truly inspiring and impressive where a humble cauliflower is elevated to gourmet standard. This is one dish that always grabs attention from my guests whenever I cooked for them and it is one dish that has never let me down when it comes to its flavour. It’s an impressive dish to look at and also in taste with delicately balanced combination of assorted whole spices which lends amazing flavour. I am mighty excited to share this recipe that is sure to win hearts of even pickiest eaters.

The recipe is inspired by the whole stuffed chicken roast called Murgh Musallam where a whole chicken is marinated, sometimes stuffed with boiled eggs and keema (minced lamb meat), and cooked in a rich makhani gravy flavoured with whole spices. Considered as a gourmet dish, Ibn Battuta describes Murg Musallam as one of the favoured sishes at the court of Sulan Muhammad Ibn Tughlaq (1345 AD), in the book ‘Tracing the boundaries between Hindi and Urdu’. In Ain-e-Akbari (or Constitution of Akbar, 16th century detailed document recording the administration of emperor Akbar’s empire), Murg Mussalm is referred as Mussammn. Abul Fazl, the author of Akbarnama (or Book of Akbar, is the official chronicle of the reign of Akbar) and Ain-e-Akbari, one of the nine gems (Navaratna) in Akbar’s court mentions Murgh Musallm as one of the thirty dishes served in royal court in emperor Akbar’s biography 'Akbarnama'.

Roasted Hassleback Potatoes with Rosemary and Spicy Garlic Yogurt Dip Recipes

Learn how to make Roasted Hassleback Potatoes with Spicy Garlic Yogurt Dip

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

~ Albert Einstein

Last week was the most testing, tiring and anxious time for K and me as parents. It was not something entirely new as LD periodically finds himself swallowing cocktails of paracetamol and ibuprofen sometimes flavoured by teaspoonful of antibiotics! ~sigh~ It’s not my favourite sight, but something I have come to accept and carry on as his doctor keep reminding us how he is more susceptible to infections when compared to his peers due to his birth history. We hope that it will get better as he gets old when his immune system is better at coping with infections. For few months, it did look that way until LD ended up in the hospital!